


Tied Together With a Smile

by liberallesbian37



Category: Pretty Little Liars
Genre: F/F, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-18
Updated: 2016-09-01
Packaged: 2018-05-21 09:09:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 17,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6045952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liberallesbian37/pseuds/liberallesbian37
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jordan isn't as perfect as everyone thinks he is. Spanna.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. You Cry, But You Don't Tell Anyone

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger Warning: Domestic Abuse  
> (I will only be posting this trigger warning once. It applies throughout the entire story.)

                Hanna paced back and forth nervously. Jordan would be arriving any minute, and she was going to have to tell him what she’d done. It had seemed so straight forward when she’d done it. There was a problem, she’d taken care of it. The only thing she’d been thinking about was helping Aria, the way she knew Aria would help her. But now she had this giant secret looming over her head, and she knew she had to tell her fiancé. She sighed. Things had been so complicated since returning to Rosewood. She’d finally gotten to a point where she’d been happy. Or, if not happy, she’d at least been content. But now she was back in Rosewood, and everything was getting messy.

                She should have known this would happen. Death was constantly around the corner in Rosewood, so it was only inevitable that you would encounter it if you stayed long enough. And then there was Spencer… She’d been shocked when Spencer had admitted that she had feelings for Caleb. She’d been even more shocked to discover that she wasn’t upset about the idea of _Caleb_ dating, but the idea of _Spencer_ dating. She’d always known that Spencer was straight; it was obvious given the slew of boyfriends she had. So Hanna had accepted that, and she’d tried to move on. It was a lot easier when they were in different cities.

                A knock on the door broke Hanna out of her thoughts. She opened the door and let Jordan in, dreading the conversation they were about to have.

                “Hanna, why are you staying here instead of your mother’s house? And whose place is this?” Jordan asked.

                “It’s a friend’s,” Hanna said evasively, not knowing how he would react to knowing it was a guy’s apartment. “And that’s actually what I need to talk to you about. Things have been a little bit tense between my mom and me.”

                “What happened?” he asked in a flat voice. Hanna could sense the calm before the storm.

                “The night that Charlotte was killed, my friends and I were staying at the Radley. One of my friends left in the middle of the night to meet up with an ex-boyfriend. She was worried that it wouldn’t look good if the tape got out… So I erased it,” Hanna admitted quietly. Jordan was silent. She glanced up at him. His face was a mask of thinly veiled anger. Out of nowhere, his hand was in the air and he backhanded her. Hanna’s hands flew to her burning cheek.

                “What were you thinking? You are going to be my wife, and my wife cannot be running around engaging in illegal activity! We have a reputation to uphold!” he yelled. Tears formed in Hanna’s eyes.

                “Are you even listening to me?” he asked.

                “I’m sorry,” Hanna whispered. Jordan smacked her again, his ring catching on her lip. He grabbed the collar of her shirt, pulling her so his lips were only an inch away from her ear. She could feel blood trickling down her mouth.

                “I will call my father’s lawyer and we will take care of it. But it will _never_ happen again, do you hear me?” he asked in a threateningly low voice. Hanna nodded quickly. Jordan sank his fist into her ribs and Hanna cried out. Without another word, Jordan got up to go call his dad. Hanna’s own phone rang, and she glanced at it, intending to ignore the call. She paused when she saw it was Spencer. She quickly wiped at her tears.

                “Hello?” she answered.

                “Hey, I just got another text. I was thinking, and I think maybe we should tell Caleb. Maybe he can trace the texts,” Spencer said. Hanna wanted to groan at the reminder that Spencer was into Caleb. Suddenly something occurred to her. When Jordan’s anger had gotten out of control before, she’d been all alone. But she wasn’t alone here.

                “Is it an emergency?” she asked. She could practically feel the confusion that was radiating from Spencer right now.

                “What? Well, given that this person thinks—”

                “Okay, Mom, I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Hanna said, quickly hanging up the phone. She looked up to see Jordan still on the phone. Before he could say anything, she scribbled a note saying her mom had locked herself out of the house, grabbed her purse, and left.

                Hanna didn’t go to her mother’s house, though. Instead, she drove to the Hastings’ house. She groaned when she saw all of the cars in the driveway. She’d forgotten that Spencer’s kitchen was campaign headquarters. She dialed Spencer’s number, hoping she was actually home.

                “Hanna? What was that about?” Spencer asked as if no time had passed since Hanna hanging up on her.

                “Are you at home?” Hanna asked.

                “Yeah, why?”

                “Could you meet me in your barn? Wait, is Caleb in there?”

                “No, he’s in the house. And sure, what’s going on?”

                “Just meet me in there.”

                “Okay… Where are you?” Spencer asked.

                “I’m in your driveway,” Hanna told her.

                “I’ll be right out.”

                Hanna hung up and walked over to the barn. Luckily, the door was unlocked, and she slipped inside.

                “Hanna? What’s going on?” Spencer asked a minute later, waking into the barn. Hanna turned to look at her friend. Spencer gasped.

                “Hanna, what happened?” Spencer asked worriedly. Hanna remembered the blood on her face, and realized she must look terrible. She opened her mouth to make up an excuse, but instead started crying. Spencer rushed over to her side and led her to the couch.

                “Let me get you some ice, okay?” she said softly. Hanna nodded. Spencer returned a few seconds later with ice wrapped in a washcloth. She sat down next to Hanna and gently pressed the ice to her mouth.

                “Who did this?” Spencer asked in a quiet voice. For a few seconds, Hanna didn’t say anything.

                “I shouldn’t have come here,” she whispered. Spencer frowned.

                “You should _always_ come here,” Spencer said. In that moment, Hanna broke.

                “It was Jordan.” She could practically feel the fury radiating from Spencer, and was surprised by her friend’s ability to stay calm. If the situations were reversed, she would be on her way to kill anyone who laid hands on Spencer.

                “I-I told him about the hotel tapes,” Hanna said in explanation, though Spencer hadn’t asked. The brunette still didn’t say anything.

                “Has this happened before?” Spencer asked finally. Hanna shrugged, and Spencer’s frown deepened.

                “It’s… It’s not usually this bad. He’s never split my lip before,” she admitted, leaving out that he generally preferred to leave her face alone when he got mad.

                “It doesn’t happen very often, just when he gets really angry,” Hanna said quickly. Spencer’s eyes flashed with anger.

                “I don’t care how angry he gets he has no right to put his hands on you,” Spencer said. Hanna didn’t say anything in response. Spencer sighed.

                “Can I hug you?” she asked gently. Hanna nodded, tears leaking out of her eyes. Spencer wrapped her arms around her friend. The blonde flinched when Spencer put pressure on her ribs. Spencer pulled back immediately.

                “What’s wrong?” she asked. Hanna swallowed thickly, not wanting to tell her friend.

                “Can you just hug me again?” she asked instead of giving an answer. Spencer leaned in without hesitation, being careful not to hurt her again. Hanna laid her head on Spencer’s shoulder. The two girls stayed in an embrace for several minutes before Spencer pulled back. Hanna missed the warmth of her arms.

                “Oh, shit,” she said.

                “What?” Spencer asked.

                “I got blood on your shirt,” Hanna said, pointing to the shoulder of Spencer’s shirt. Spencer wrinkled her nose.

                “It’ll come out,” she said. Hanna shook her head.

                “No it won’t. I can pay to get it dry cleaned,” she offered.  Spencer gave her a pointed look.

                “I have plenty of shirts. I only have one Hanna,” she said seriously. Her fingers found the hem of Hanna’s own shirt.

                “May I?” she asked. Hanna nodded, looking away. Spencer swore under her breath. Bruises of varying ages littered Hanna’s abdomen.

                “What the hell happened? Hanna, these aren’t all from today,” Spencer said. Hanna sighed.

                “Look, he got really mad after that dinner at Alison’s. Things have been stressful at work lately, and now I’m here causing trouble, and he’s just really stressed out,” Hanna rambled.

                “Please don’t make excuses for him,” Spencer whispered. Hanna was surprised to see tears in her friend’s eyes. Without thinking, she reached out to wipe them away.

                “Why are you crying?” she asked. Spencer laughed humorlessly.

                “I’m crying because my best friend is making excuses for her scumbag boyfriend hurting her,” she said bluntly. Hanna flinched.

                “Fiancé,” she corrected under her breath.

                “Don’t marry him,” Spencer whispered. Hanna frowned.

                “What?”

                “Don’t marry him,” Spencer repeated, her voice stronger. “Let me call Toby. Press charges. You… You can stay here with me.”

                Hanna snorted.

                “I don’t think this barn is big enough for you, me, and Caleb,” she said. Spencer blushed.

                “I think I jumped the gun with that conversation,” Spencer admitted. Hanna felt her heart leap, and immediately felt bad. She should want her friend to be happy.

                “Why?” she asked. Spencer shrugged.

                “I realized that I was transferring my feelings for someone else onto him because… because he was here, and he’s sweet, and I trust him,” Spencer explained.

                “Look, whoever you have feelings for is a lucky guy, Caleb or not. And I hope you figure it all out. But I can’t stay here. I can’t press charges. I-I need to go back. He thinks I’m letting my mom into the house after she locked herself out,” Hanna said, standing up.

                “Please don’t go,” Spencer whispered. Hanna stilled, tears welling in her eyes yet again.

                “I have to. I’m engaged. And… it’s okay most of the time. Good, even. I just have to deal with a few not so good times,” Hanna said, continuing toward the door. Spencer watched her best friend walking away, walking back to the man who had hurt her.

                “He’ll hurt you again. It’s not going to get better. Getting married won’t make it better. It’s only going to get worse,” Spencer told her angrily. Hanna turned around.

                “I don’t have a choice, Spencer! His family’s too powerful. I can’t leave him. I can’t press charges. God, don’t you get it?” Hanna yelled.

                “Why did you even come here? Why are you telling me this?” Spencer asked, tears streaming down her face.

                “I… I don’t know! I needed to get away,” Hanna said frustratedly.           

                “We can figure this out, okay? You don’t have to go back to him. Please don’t go back to him,” she whispered.

                “I have to,” Hanna whispered. Her heart clenched as she watched Spencer practically double over, sobbing. Every fiber of her being was screaming at her to go over to her friend, but she knew she’d never leave if she didn’t leave now.

                “But I love you,” Spencer cried softly. Hanna froze.

                “What?” she asked, turning around to face Spencer.

                “I-I love you, Hanna. I think that’s why I thought I had feelings for Caleb. I… I’ve never had feelings for a girl before. He… He talks about you so much, and it made me feel closer to you,” Spencer admitted, refusing to look at the blonde. Hanna didn’t think she’d ever seen her friend so vulnerable.

                “Do you really think Toby could keep me safe?” Hanna whispered. Spencer’s head snapped up and she nodded. Hanna took a breath.

                “Will you call him?” she asked.

                “Of course I will,” Spencer said quickly. Hanna walked over to the couch and sat down, feeling exhausted. Spencer was already pulling out her phone.

                “Wait, Spencer,” Hanna said, gently grabbing her wrist. Spencer paused, putting her phone back down.

                “What?” she asked. Gathering all of her courage, Hanna pulled Spencer into a kiss, ignoring the pain in her lip.

                “I’ve wanted to do that since high school,” Hanna whispered. Spencer’s eyes widened.

                “I-I never knew,” she said. Hanna gave a small shrug.

                “I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance. And I did love Caleb, I really did,” she said. Spencer nodded, taking this in. She pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Hanna’s head.

                “I’m going to keep you safe, baby. I promise.”

 


	2. Hold On, Baby You're Losing It

                “Can you just talk about something?” Hanna asked as Spencer returned with two cups of coffee. Spencer sat down on the couch next to her, and handed her one of the cups. Hanna inhaled the strong scent of the coffee and took a grateful sip.

                “What do you want me to talk about?” Spencer asked. Hanna shrugged.

                “Anything that will take my mind off of…” she trailed off. Spencer had called Toby and he’d said he’d be there in an hour. Hanna wasn’t sure if that felt too soon or too long.

                “Why didn’t you ever tell us you were bisexual?” Spencer asked. As she posed the question, she wondered why A never revealed her secret. Hanna shrugged again.

                “I don’t know. I almost told Emily once. But… I don’t know. She wasn’t very happy with me at the time and I didn’t know how to say it. And I didn’t know how to tell anyone without admitting that I liked you.”

                “Would that have been so bad?” Spencer asked in a whisper. Hanna raised an eyebrow.

                “Are you kidding me? You and Toby were happy. I wasn’t going to cause any trouble. Besides, I didn’t think there was any chance you could ever be into me and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship,” she said with a blush. Spencer reached out to gently cup the unbruised side of Hanna’s face.  

                “I… I don’t know exactly how I would have reacted. Like you said, I was with Toby. But I do know one thing: I never would have stopped being friends with you. I love you, Han. Nothing could ever change that,” she promised. Hanna gave her a small smile. There was a knock at the door and Spencer frowned.

                “Toby said it would take him at least an hour to get here,” she murmured, standing up to go answer the door. Hanna grabbed her wrist.

                “Wait… What if it’s Jordan?” Hanna asked worriedly. Spencer squeezed her hand reassuringly.

                “Then you’re not here,” Spencer said simply. With another squeeze to Hanna’s hand, she got up to answer the door. To her surprise, it was Caleb.

                “Caleb. What are you doing here?” Spencer asked. Caleb raised an eyebrow.

                “Well, I am staying here,” he pointed out. Spencer waited, and Caleb sighed.

                “I saw Hanna’s car in the driveway. Is everything okay? Why didn’t she come into the house?” Caleb asked. Spencer sighed.

                “Look, Caleb…”

                “What’s going on?” Caleb asked worriedly.

                “Caleb, please. Just go back in the house,” Spencer pleaded.

                “It’s okay, Spence,” Hanna said quietly, joining Spencer and Caleb.

                “What the hell happened?” Caleb asked the second he saw Hanna. Hanna swallowed thickly.

                “I’m fine, okay? I really don’t want to talk about it,” Hanna said. Caleb’s eyes flashed.

                “What happened?” he repeated, louder. Spencer stepped protectively in front of Hanna. Outside, a truck pulled up. Caleb glanced outside.

                “What’s Toby doing here?” Caleb asked. Spencer sighed.

                “We need to talk to him alone, okay? So please go inside,” Spencer said again. Anger flashed across Caleb’s face, but he didn’t argue. A minute later, Toby, dressed in his police uniform, walked in, shutting the door behind him.

                “You got here quickly,” Spencer said, trying to make small talk.

                “Yeah, well, it sounded urgent on the phone. What happened?” he asked. Hanna stepped out from behind Spencer.

                “I need to report a domestic violence incident,” she whispered. Toby nodded without saying anything.

                “Do you want to go sit in the kitchen?” Spencer asked. Hanna nodded, and the three walked to the small kitchen. Spencer popped Hanna’s coffee into the microwave and poured Toby a cup. She set the two mugs on the table, refilled her own, and pulled out a chair for Hanna.

                “Do you want me to leave?” she asked. Hanna shook her head.

                “Don’t you dare,” she whispered. Spencer gave her a small smile, and sat down next to her. Toby pulled out a notebook and sat across from them.

                “What happened?” he asked. Hanna took a shaky breath, and Spencer reached out to grasp her hand. Hanna gave her a small smile. Toby noticed, but didn’t say anything.

                “I um, I told Jordan something, and he got… he got mad,” Hanna mumbled. Toby raised an eyebrow.

                “What did you tell him?”

                Hanna shifted uncomfortably, and Spencer squeezed her hand reassuringly.

                “It was personal,” she answered for Hanna. The blonde quickly nodded in agreement. Toby didn’t look like he believed them, but he didn’t argue.

                “What did he do?” he asked. Hanna bit her lip.

                “He, uh, he hit me,” she whispered. Spencer ran her thumb over Hanna’s knuckles, trying to keep her calm. She could tell her friend was seconds away from bursting into tears again.

                “How did he hit you? How many times?” Toby asked. Hanna’s hand started shaking, and Spencer glared at him.

                “Is it really necessary to ask that?” she snapped. Toby frowned.

                “Yes, it is. And if you can’t handle this, you’re welcome to go in the other room,” he retorted. Before Spencer could say anything in return, cut in.

                “It’s okay, Spence. He, he hit me once with the back of his hand, and then once with the palm of his hand. And he, um, he punched me once,” she whispered. Unconsciously, she moved closer to Spencer, which didn’t go unnoticed by Toby.

                “Where?” he asked. Hanna gestured to the upper left side of her ribcage.

                “Has this happened before?” Toby asked. Hanna nodded.

                “How often?”

                “Just… just when he gets really angry,” she responded.

                “And how often does that happen?”

                Hanna shrugged, looking frustrated.

                “I don’t know! It happens sometimes, okay?” she cried.

                “Maybe we should take a break,” Spencer suggested. Hanna nodded hopefully. Toby sighed, but closed the notebook.

                “You’ll have to come into the station to file an official report,” he informed them.

“I have to do this again?” Hanna asked. Spencer glared at him.

                “What the hell was this?” she asked. Toby shrugged.

                “Look, they’ll  need to get a full report and pictures and stuff. But honestly? You probably shouldn’t report it,” he said. Spencer’s jaw dropped.

                “In the other room! Now!” she ordered, leaving Hanna in the kitchen. As soon as they were out of earshot, Spencer laid into him.

                “Are you seriously advising my best friend not to report her abusive boyfriend?” Spencer hissed.

                “Yes, I am. Because if she walks into the Rosewood Police Department and reports this, it is going to come out that he got mad after she told him about _erasing evidence in a murder investigation_. Is that what you want to happen?” he asked.

                “That’s not what happened,” Spencer protested. Toby raised an eyebrow.

                “Isn’t it? Look, Spencer. I put that sort of thing behind me. This isn’t my case, and as far as I’m concerned, I don’t know anything. I’m just warning you that if she draws any attention to herself, it could end up going in a bad direction,” he cautioned. Spencer sighed, realizing he was right.

                “What if he tries to hurt her again?” Spencer whispered.

                “I don’t know, Spencer. I’ve got to go,” he said. Spencer pursed her lips, annoyed at her ex-boyfriend’s attitude.

                “Fine. Please don’t tell Caleb about this, though, okay?” she asked.

                “I won’t,” he said, looking genuinely hurt that she thought he would talk about it.

                “I’ll see you around,” she said. He nodded and left. Spencer shut the door behind him and locked it. She returned to the kitchen to find Hanna staring glumly at her coffee.

                “Hey, sweetie,” Spencer said softly. Hanna sighed, stood up, and walked over to the couch. Spencer sighed and followed her. Hanna laid her head on Spencer’s shoulder. Spencer put her arm around the blonde, squeezing her shoulder gently.

                “He doesn’t think I should tell the police,” Hanna said. Spencer furrowed her eyebrows.

                “What?”

                “I could tell by the look on his face. He thought I deserved it, didn’t he?” she asked. Spencer shook her head.

                “No, Han, he _did not_ think you deserved it. He’s just… He’s concerned that you’ll end up confirming that you erased the tapes,” she explained.

                “God, I’m so stupid,” Hanna mumbled. Spencer shook her head.

                “You’re not stupid, Hanna,” she said.

                “You said Toby could keep me safe. I honestly let myself believe for a while that I could get away from Jordan. But Toby can’t protect me, because I’m an idiot who does illegal things and then tells her fiancé and gets herself hit,” Hanna said. Spencer’s frown deepened.

                “Don’t say that, sweetie. Look, we’ll… I don’t know, we’ll go to the police, you can report Jordan. If anything comes up about the tape, I’ll say I’m the one who erased it,” she said.

                “And ruin your mother’s campaign?” Hanna asked in disbelief.

                “If that’s what it takes to keep you safe,” Spencer whispered. A smile spread across Hanna’s face, and she tilted her head up. Hesitantly, she pressed a kiss to Spencer’s lips.

                “I’m not going to let you do that. Thank you for offering, though,” Hanna said. Spencer smiled and kissed Hanna back, careful not to make her lip start bleeding again.

                “What are we doing?” Spencer asked. Hanna pulled back quickly.

                “I thought you wanted this. But if you want to try things with Caleb, I totally get it,” she said. Spencer shook her head.

                “I don’t want to try things with Caleb. I want to try things with _you_. I just didn’t know if you were ready. I mean, you still have a fiancé, and I know you’re leaving him, but I didn’t want to pressure you or hurt you or anything, because he’s hurting you and I don’t want to be too forceful—”

                “Spencer,” Hanna cut her off. “You’re rambling.”

                Spencer blushed.

                “And I want to try things with you too. You’re not pressuring me, you’re not hurting me, and you’re not being too forceful. I’ve been ready for this for more than five years,” Hanna said. Spencer smiled widely.

                “We still have a lot of things to figure out,” Spencer pointed out, ever practical. Hanna rolled her eyes.

                “I know. I-I think I want to break things off with Jordan before we take things too far,” she said, looking concerned about Spencer’s reaction. Spencer gave her a reassuring smile.

                “Of course, Hanna,” Spencer said. Hanna smiled hesitantly.

                “And… Do you mind if we take this slow?” she asked. Spencer cupped her cheek gently.

                “Han, we can take this as slow as you want. I’m not going anywhere, okay?” she reassured. Hanna turned her head slightly to kiss Spencer’s palm.

                “Thank you,” she murmured.

                “You don’t have to thank me for treating you the way you deserve to be treated,” Spencer said seriously.

                “I don’t know how to break up with him,” Hanna whispered. Spencer didn’t say anything for a moment, thinking. She didn’t think Hanna should be alone when she broke up with Jordan, but she didn’t know what would work best. Before meeting with Toby, she would have suggested Toby be nearby, but now she wasn’t so sure.

                “You could do it in a public place,” she suggested. Hanna raised an eyebrow.

                “It seems a little bit tactless to break an engagement in public, doesn’t it?” Hanna asked. Spencer didn’t point out the fact that Hanna often ignored tact.

                “It also seems safe,” she pointed out. Hanna considered this.

                “Or you could do it in the Radley with me and Caleb right next door,” she said. Hanna shook her head.

                “No way. Jordan and Caleb are not going to be in the same room again. And if it gets messy, I don’t want you to be there.”

                “Han, if it gets messy that’s exactly _why_ I should be there,” she insisted. Hanna shook her head again. Spencer sighed.

                “I don’t know, you could do it at your mom’s house while she’s home. Or just say screw tact and do it in a public place. I’m sorry, Han, but I’m a lot more concerned with your safety than his feelings,” Spencer said seriously. Hanna leaned in and gave her a soft kiss.

                “Thank you, Spencer. I know you’re going to say I don’t need to thank you, but thank you. For being here for me and for being so completely wonderful,” she said. Spencer smiled.

                “Of course, sweetie. I will always be here for you.”

                “Am I keeping you from your mom’s campaign?” Hanna asked, suddenly worried. Spencer shook her head.

                “They don’t need me,” she said.

                “Are you sure? Because we can go in the house if you want. I can entertain myself while you work,” Hanna offered. Spencer shook her head again.

                “Seriously, Han. It’s okay. They’ll be all right without me for one afternoon,” she said.

                “I could really use something to take my mind off everything,” Hanna said quietly. Suddenly Spencer understood. She stood up and offered Hanna a hand.

                “You wanna go read all the gossip about the opposition? I have a giant file on the woman who happens to be dating Toby,” she said. Hanna’s eyes lit up.

                “Yes, I absolutely want to go read that!”

                “Caleb will be in there, you know,” Spencer cautioned. Hanna shrugged.

                “He’ll find out eventually,” she pointed out. Spencer squeezed her head.

                “All right, let’s go.”

               


	3. The Water's High, You're Jumping Into It

                Hanna followed Spencer into the house, nervous to see Caleb again. He noticed them immediately, and jumped up to meet them.

                “Hanna, what happened?” he asked. Hanna took a deep breath.

                “It was Jordan, but everything’s okay, and I really don’t want to talk about it,” she said, her words coming out in a rush. Caleb’s face flushed with anger.

                “You can’t be serious? He hurt you! Everything is not okay!” he yelled. Noticing Hanna’s discomfort, Spencer grabbed Caleb’s arm and pulled him into the other room.

                “Look, I know you’re worried. So am I. But Hanna doesn’t need us freaking out and yelling, okay?” Spencer whispered. Caleb sighed.

                “She talked to Toby?” he asked. Spencer groaned.

                “Yes, but don’t bring it up,” she warned. Caleb frowned.

                “Why not? What happened?”

                “He doesn’t think I should tell the police,” Hanna said, walking into the room. Spencer sighed and rubbed her temples.

                “Hanna, I thought you wanted to get your mind off of this, not think about it more,” she said. Hanna grimaced.

                “I do, but it’s hard to get my mind off of it when you keep pulling people into other rooms so I don’t know what’s going on,” she snapped. Spencer reached out to grasp Hanna’s hand.

                “That’s not what I’m doing,” she whispered softly. Hanna sighed.

                “I know. But I’m not made out of glass, okay? I can handle this,” she urged. Spencer gave her a small smile.

                “I know you can, Han.”

                “Back up, why the hell does Toby think you shouldn’t tell the police?” Caleb interrupted impatiently.

                “Jordan got mad because I… I told him something. Toby thinks that if I go to the police, he will too,” Hanna said. Caleb furrowed his eyebrows.

                “What did you tell him?” he asked. Spencer started to open her mouth, but a pointed look from Hanna made her close it again.

                “I erased the tapes at Radley from the night Charlotte died,” Hanna said simply. Caleb didn’t react.

                “Can the police prove that you did it?” he asked. Hanna shrugged.

                “If they get the backup footage,” she said. Caleb thought for a moment, a look crossing his face.

                “No, no. I know that look. Forget it, Caleb,” Hanna said. He gave her an innocent look.

                “What?” he asked.

                “Do you have an idea?” Spencer asked eagerly. Caleb nodded.

                “Well, either we could go in and _borrow_ the backup tapes, or I could delete more tapes from Radley, and it might seem like it’s someone else,” he said.

                “That is a terrible idea,” Hanna stated.

                “No, the second idea is terrible, but the first idea is good. If that backup tape is the only thing that could prove Hanna deleted the original tape, we need to get our hands on it. And then, even if Jordan tells the police, he’ll just look like he’s trying to get back at you,” Spencer said. Hanna groaned.

                “No, no more illegal activities! I messed up, okay? I know that. You guys don’t need to get mixed up in it,” Hanna argued. Spencer stroked Hanna’s arm gently.

                “You erased that tape for Aria. Any of us would have done the same thing,” Spencer pointed out.

                “I’ll deal with the backup tapes,” Caleb said. Hanna sighed, knowing there was no way to talk him out of it.

                “In the meantime, can I go beat up Jordan?” Caleb asked seriously. Spencer rolled her eyes.

                “No! Don’t you dare go anywhere near him, do you hear me?” Hanna asked threatening.

                “Spencer!” a voice called from the other room. Spencer rolled her eyes.

                “I better go see what’s going on. I’ll be right back,” she said, leaving Caleb and Hanna alone.

                “So, she told you, huh?” Caleb asked. Hanna frowned.

                “Told me about what?” she asked. Caleb paused, and Hanna nodded in understanding.

                “Oh, about her feelings? Yeah, she told me. How could you tell?”

                “Neither of you is as good at keeping secrets as you think,” he said with a smirk. Hanna laughed softly.

                “How did you know about it in the first place?” she asked.

                “Spencer told me. The other night. I don’t know how much she told you…” Caleb trailed off.

                “She told me some,” Hanna said. “So what happened?”

                “She kissed me. And promptly burst into tears,” he admitted. “After that, she told me about how she feels. About you.”

                “Are you two talking about me?” Spencer asked walking back into the room. Both Hanna and Caleb blushed.

                “Sorry, baby. But you’re so cute,” Hanna said. Spencer laughed.

                “You’re cute.”

                Just then, Hanna’s phone rang. She stared at it, her face turning pale. She edged closer to Spencer and showed her the phone.

                “Who is it?” Caleb asked.

                “It’s Jordan,” Hanna whispered. Spencer put her arm around the blonde.

                “You don’t have to answer it,” she said. Hanna’s eyes were wide.

                “I don’t need him running around town looking for me. I’ll just talk to him really quick. _Alone_ ,” she stressed. Spencer and Caleb shared a concerned look, but returned to the other room, leaving Hanna alone to answer the phone.

                “Hello?” she said, trying to put on a fake cheery voice.

                “Where are you?” Jordan demanded. Hanna swallowed nervously.

                “I’m with my mom. She’s having a bad—”

                “Why are you lying to me?” he asked calmly. Hanna froze. She knew that tone. If they had been in the same room, he would hit her in approximately ten seconds.

                “I-I’m not lying,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Spencer edging closer to the door. Instead of sending her away, she gestured for her to come over.

                “I just saw your mother and she said she hasn’t seen you all day! Where are you?” he yelled. Hanna looked up into Spencer’s worried eyes.

                “It’s okay,” she mouthed. Spencer grasped her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

                “Claudia called me. She wanted me back in New York right away. I was hoping I’d be back before you noticed I was gone. I know you think I work too much,” Hanna rambled. Spencer raised an eyebrow at Hanna’s lie.

                “Why don’t you just stay in New York? I’ll fly home,” he said. Spencer nodded quickly, eager to get Jordan out of the same city as Hanna.

                “No, no it’s okay. You stay there. I’ll try to be home tonight,” Hanna promised.

                “All right. I’ll see you tonight. Love you.”

                “Yeah. Love you too,” Hanna mumbled, hanging up. She looked up to see Spencer furiously wiping away tears.

                “What’s wrong?” she asked worriedly.

                “How can he be like that? How can he hit you one minute and tell you he loves you the next?” she asked. Hanna didn’t say anything.

                “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get upset,” Spencer apologized. Hanna kissed her cheek.

                “It’s okay. You don’t have to apologize for crying, Spence. God knows I’ve been crying enough,” she said.

                “You haven’t gotten a chance to read about Toby’s new girlfriend yet,” Spencer pointed out. Hanna laughed.

                “Give me the file! I want to get all the dirty details!” she said. Spencer laughed, and the two girls walked into the other room. Caleb looked up.

                “Everything okay?” he asked. Hanna nodded. Spencer handed her the file.

                “Oh my god, Spence. You didn’t tell me it was a book,” she joked. Spencer rolled her eyes.

                “Hanna? Can I ask you something?” Caleb asked. Hanna sighed, but nodded.

                “You’re going to break up with him, right?”

                “Yeah, I’m going to break up with him. I just wanted to wait until tomorrow,” she said. He nodded wordlessly.

Hanna opened the file and started flipping through the pages. After a few minutes, Spencer relaxed and started back in on her own work. The file wasn’t actually that interesting, but Hanna pretended it was, not wanting to disturb Spencer. She glanced up at Caleb. He was staring at something on his laptop.

“What are you looking at?” she whispered. Caleb showed her the screen. It was an article about the election. Her eyes wandered to the comments, and Hanna understood why he was so fixated on it. _Candidate’s Daughter: Murderer? Anytime Spencer Hastings is around, somebody dies!_

“Can you do anything about that?” Hanna asked. Caleb shrugged.

“I can’t erase it from the minds of people who’ve read it,” he said.

“But you can erase it from the article?” she asked. He raised an eyebrow.

                “Depends on if you’re going to let me engage in illegal activity,” he joked. Hanna laughed.

                “And I’m going to spam everything with good comments. We’ve already got a story going about how social media bullies Spencer,” he said.

                “Can I help?” Hanna asked. He nodded, and started to explain what they needed to do. Hanna spent the next several hours helping Caleb. Working on the campaign, Hanna lost track of time. It felt like it had only been minutes when Spencer closed her laptop.

                “I’m calling it a day,” she announced.

                “Can I still stay here?” Hanna asked nervously. Spencer pushed a strand of hair behind Hanna’s ear.

                “Of course you can,” Spencer said. Suddenly something occurred to her.

                “Oh crap. Caleb, can I kick you off the couch? I’ll pay for a hotel room for you,” she offered. Caleb shook his head.

                “It’s no problem. And you don’t have to pay for it, Spencer,” he said. Hanna frowned.

                “Couldn’t he just stay on the couch?” she asked.

                “Where am I supposed to sleep if he’s on the couch?” Spencer asked.

                “On the bed,” Hanna said slowly.

                “But you’re sleeping in the bed,” Spencer said. Hanna stared at her.

                “Oh! Oh, you mean we’d both sleep in the bed,” she realized. Hanna shrugged.

                “Spence, we’ve shared a bed before. I mean, if you’re not comfortable…” she trailed off. Spencer leaned over and kissed her gently.

                “I would love to share a bed with you,” she said seriously. Hanna’s face lit up.

                “Does this mean I get to keep the couch? Because I wasn’t going to say anything, but there’s no way I’m staying at Radley,” Caleb said.

                “It’s fine with me,” Hanna said. Spencer nodded in agreement.

A half hour later, the three were hanging out in the barn. Spencer was sharing stories about some of the politicians she had worked with—without naming names, of course. Suddenly Hanna paled.

                “What if Jordan calls again? What if he calls Claudia and finds out I was never in New York? What if he comes looking for me?” she asked in concern. Spencer wrapped her arm around the blonde.

                “If he comes here looking for you, then I’m glad Caleb is here. No one’s going to hurt you, Hanna,” Spencer promised.

                “Yeah, I could definitely take him,” Caleb said. Spencer rolled her eyes. Hanna seemed slightly mollified, but still worried.

                “Okay…” she agreed.

                “Do you want to go get ready for bed?” Spencer asked. Hanna nodded. The two girls said good night to Caleb, and went to the bedroom. Spencer pulled out a t-shirt and sweatpants that she thought would fit Hanna. The blonde accepted them gratefully. Once the girls had finished getting ready, they slipped into the bed. At first, they were on opposite edges. Spencer moved to turn the light off, but paused when Hanna started talking.

                “Do you think I should call Emily and Aria? And my mom? He already talked to her, what if she gets worried?” Hanna asked. Spencer thought for a minute.

                “Han, baby, I think you’re overreacting. But you know him, and I don’t. Don’t call Emily and Aria. If he would show up to their houses, they would tell him that they have no idea where you are, and that’s the truth. But if you want to call your mom, go ahead and call her,” Spencer said. She noticed that they had both moved closer to the center of the bed, until they were nearly touching.

                “What do I tell her?” Hanna whispered.

                “Tell her that you’re okay and you’re staying with me tonight, and you don’t want him to know. You don’t have to tell her everything,” Spencer suggested.

                “She’ll ask questions,” Hanna said. Spencer sighed, but didn’t point out that Hanna would probably have to tell her mom at some point. Hanna took out her phone and dialed her mom’s number. Spencer started to get up to give her privacy, but Hanna gripped her arm.

                “Hello?” Ashley answered.

                “Hey, Mom. It’s me,” Hanna said.

                “Hanna? Where are you? I ran into Jordan earlier. He said that you came over to let me into the house? Is everything okay?”

                “Mom, I’m fine. I’m at Spencer’s… But if you talk to Jordan again, could you just say you don’t know where I am?” Hanna asked.

                “Hanna, is everything okay?” Ashley asked seriously. Hanna nodded and laid her head on Spencer’s shoulder.

                “I told him about the tapes and we got into a fight. I just need a little bit of time, okay?”

                “Hanna…”

                “Mom, please. If he asks, will you just say you haven’t talked to me and you don’t know where I am?” Hanna asked. She heard Ashley sigh.

                “All right. But I want to talk to you tomorrow, okay?”

                “Yeah, sure, whatever,” Hanna agreed before hanging up. She groaned and buried her face in Spencer’s shoulder, ignoring the way it made her cheek throb.

                “Everything is a mess,” she mumbled. Spencer rubbed her back.

                “Would it be too cliché to say we aren’t a mess?” she asked. Hanna laughed, and kissed Spencer’s collarbone.

                “No. Actually, I really like the way that sounds. _We_ ,” Hanna repeated, smiling. Spencer kissed Hanna’s temple.

                “So do I. Try to get some sleep, baby. We’ll deal with everything tomorrow. Everything’s going to work out just fine, okay?” she promised, reaching over to turn out the light.

                “I know,” Hanna said. For the first time, she actually believed it.


	4. You Might Not Be the Golden One

                Hanna woke with a start, gasping for breath. The room was dark, and there was an arm around her. She could tell right away it wasn’t Jordan, though. Instead of the suffocating feeling she got anytime Jordan had his arm around her, she felt safe. The arm was protective, but not possessive. Where the hell was she?

                “Are you okay?” Spencer asked sleepily. The events of the previous day came flooding back to Hanna. She had left Jordan, and gone to Spencer. Spencer loved her. _Spencer loved her._

                “Yeah, just a bad dream,” Hanna whispered, remembering that Caleb was in the other room. Spencer kissed her bare shoulder.

                “Was it about him?” Spencer asked. Hanna shook her head.

                “No. It was… It was about the Dollhouse,” she said. She felt Spencer tense up behind her.

                “Do you dream about the Dollhouse often?” Spencer asked. Hanna shook her head again.

                “No. At least, not until we came back here,” Hanna said bitterly. She hadn’t dreamt about the Dollhouse for years, not since before she and Caleb had broken up.

                “I’ve been getting them too,” Spencer admitted. Hanna turned over to face Spencer, wincing at the movement.

                “You have?” she asked in surprise. Whether she was surprised that Spencer had the dreams or that she was admitting to the dreams, Hanna wasn’t sure.

                “Yeah. That first night was the worst. Charlotte had been released and I… I was back in that damn Dollhouse,” she whispered, tears stinging in her eyes. Hanna leaned in and pressed gentle kisses to Spencer’s eyelids, as if she could kiss away the unshed tears.

                “Do you think they’ll go away?” Hanna asked. Spencer nodded.

                “We got rid of the monsters once. We can do it again,” she said confidently. Somehow Hanna knew Spencer wasn’t just referring to the nightmares.

                “Do you think you can go back to sleep?” Spencer asked a minute later. Hanna nodded and laid her head on Spencer’s chest.

                “Yeah. Will you hold me?” she asked. Spencer pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

                “Of course, baby.”

\--

                When Hanna woke again, she was alone in bed. She started to look around frantically, afraid everything had been a dream.

                “I made coffee,” Spencer announced, walking into the room. Hanna relaxed, and gratefully accepted the mug Spencer passed her way. She took a big gulp of the hot liquid. It burned her throat, but she didn’t care. The bed dipped as Spencer sat down next to her.

                “I have to talk to my mom today,” she said, staring down at her coffee.

                “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” Spencer told her reassuringly. Hanna raised eyebrow.

                “Okay, it would probably be a good idea to talk to your mom, but you don’t _have_ to,” she amended.

                “How bad do I look?” Hanna asked. Spencer bit her lip.

                “You don’t look…bad…” she lied. The left side of Hanna’s face was a deep purple color, and her lip was swollen. Hanna groaned and threw a pillow at Spencer.  

                “Watch the coffee!” Spencer joked, holding the mug up so it wouldn’t get hit with the pillow.

                “You’re a terrible liar,” Hanna complained. Spencer sighed and kissed Hanna gently on the cheek.

                “We’ll put some makeup on you and it’ll be okay. And you’re beautiful no matter what,” she said seriously, making Hanna blush.

                “What are your plans for the day?” Hanna asked.

                “My schedule is completely clear. I can be around for as much or as little as you want,” she said. Hanna smiled at that. She loved that Spencer was willing to be there for her, but she wasn’t pushing herself into the situation.

                “I guess I should tell Emily and Aria what’s going on,” Hanna said unenthusiastically, taking a sip of her coffee.

                “I could call them and ask them to come over here if you want,” Spencer offered. Hanna nodded.

                “Before we call them, though, I need to break up with him. Look at my phone. _Fifty_ text messages from him! God, Spence. How have I been so stupid?” Hanna asked. Spencer frowned.

                “What do you mean?” she asked.

                “For two years I’ve been putting up with him and pretending to be happy. After Caleb left, I wanted so badly for everything to be okay. I wanted a normal life, with a normal guy. And it really seemed like Jordan could be my normal guy for my normal life. I guess I just wanted to be happy so much I managed to make myself believe that I was happy,” she explained. Spencer nodded. She understood exactly what Hanna meant.

                “Han, has this been going on since you started dating?” she asked cautiously. Hanna shook her head.

                “No, not since the beginning. We’d been together for about six months the first time it happened,” she said.

                “Why didn’t you leave? That first time, why did you stay?” Spencer asked, her frown deepening. Hanna shrugged.

“Where was I supposed to go? Emily was so torn up about her dad dying, Aria was busy helping Ezra publish his book, you were in Spain… And it’s not like it was _really_ bad. It didn’t happen all the time, and most of the time he was as great as he seems when you first meet him. It’s only bad when he’s angry or stressed out. It got worse when I started to work for Claudia, but by then I was convinced that I loved him. And honestly, we both work so much now, we’re hardly ever home,” she explained. Spencer sighed and squeezed Hanna’s hand.

“I’m sorry you felt like we weren’t there for you,” she said. Hanna shook her head quickly.

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. I know what I just said, but it’s not like I stayed with him because my friends had their own lives. I stayed with him because I wanted him to be the one.”

“But he wasn’t,” Spencer said softly.

“No, he wasn’t,” Hanna agreed. Somehow their faces were only inches apart. Hanna leaned in to close the gap, pressing her lips against Spencer’s.

“I wish we could have figured this out two years ago,” Spencer whispered.

“Me too.”

Hanna’s phone rang, ending the moment. She groaned, and checked to see who it was.

“It’s my mom,” she told Spencer.

“Are you going to answer it?” Spencer asked, watching as Hanna stared at the screen. Finally, Hanna accepted the call.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hanna, Jordan has called five times since I talked to you last night. What in the world is going on?” Ashley asked. Hanna sighed.

“Mom, I told you we had a fight,” she said.

“So you told him you were going to New York while you were really staying with Spencer?” Ashley asked. Hanna groaned.

“Look, this really isn’t any of your business,” Hanna said angrily. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Spencer roll her eyes.

“Hanna Marin, I’m you mother. This absolutely is my business. What’s going on?”

“I just have to figure out a few things, okay? I’ll call you later,” Hanna said. She quickly hung up her phone before Ashley could respond.

“I take it you aren’t going to meet with her,” Spencer said. Hanna glared at her, but it lacked any real bite.

“I can’t talk to her right now, okay? I need to go break up with Jordan. Could you drive me to Radley? And maybe sit two tables over from me?” she asked. Spencer nodded.

“Of course, Han. Do you want me to do your makeup first?” she asked. Hanna considered for a second before shaking her head.

“No. Let him see what he did and why I’m leaving him,” she decided. She sent Jordan a quick text and got up to change her clothes.

“Hey, I wasn’t trying to listen in, but I overheard that you’re going to break up with Jordan. Do you want me to come with you guys?” Caleb asked. Hanna shook her head.

“Thanks, but I’ll be fine. Unless you don’t want to be alone, Spence,” she said.

“It’ll be okay. We’ll call if you need anything,” Spencer promised. Caleb gave a quick nod and walked out of the room.

A half hour later, Hanna and Spencer walked into Radley. Hanna immediately noticed Jordan already sitting at a table. She turned to Spencer.

“What’s he doing here? We weren’t even supposed to meet for another half hour!” Hanna hissed. Spencer rubbed her arm.

“He’s trying to assert his power. But he can’t hurt you here, baby. Okay? I’ll be right at the bar if you need anything,” she promised. Hanna gave a shaky nod and headed over to Jordan.

“Hey,” she said softly, sitting down. A deep frown was on his face.

“Where were you last night? Why didn’t you come home?” he demanded. Hanna took a nervous sip of her water.

“We need to talk. Jordan, I think we both know things aren’t working—”

“Is this about what happened yesterday?” Jordan interrupted, looking around to make sure no one was listening. “I made a mistake, Hanna. But so did you.”

“It wasn’t one mistake,” Hanna whispered. “Something needs to change.”

“We can both try harder,” Jordan insisted. Hanna shook her head.

“I think we need to break up,” she said.

“No. We’re _engage._ We can’t just break up.”

“It’s over, Jordan,” Hanna said, standing up. Jordan grabbed her wrist, squeezing tightly.

“No.”

“Let go!” Hanna cried, trying to yank her wrist away. He was stronger than her, though, and refused to let go. Hanna frantically looked for Spencer, and managed to make eye contact. The brunette was by her side in an instant.

“You need to let go of her,” Spencer said furiously. Jordan glared at her. He started to open his mouth to argue, but was cut off.

“You need to leave. Right now before I call security,” Ashley Marin said coldly. Jordan hesitated, but stood up and stormed out of the hotel. Hanna looked down at her hands, which were now intertwined with Spencer’s.

“Let’s go to my office,” Ashley said, her voice leaving no room for argument. Spencer and Hanna followed her silently. Once inside the office, Ashley shut the door and turned to look at the girls.

“Hanna, it’s time to tell me what’s going on,” Ashley said harshly. Hanna looked around desperately, wishing she was anywhere else. Spencer squeezed her hand gently.

“What’s there to tell?” Hanna asked. Ashley’s eyes widened.

“What’s there to tell? Hanna, you’re standing in front of me with a giant bruise on your face. I just kicked your fiancé out of the hotel. What in the world is going on?”

“What do you think is going on?” Hanna asked quietly, refusing to look at her mother.

“Did Jordan do this to you?” Ashley asked. Hanna gave a small nod.

“Did you tell the police?” Another nod.

“What did they say?” Ashley pressed. Hanna gave Spencer a desperate look. Understanding what she wanted, Spencer put a reassuring hand on the blonde’s back and started to answer Ashley’s question.

“The police are concerned that if Hanna goes forward with this, Jordan could reveal that Hanna deleted the security tapes,” Spencer explained. A look of both relief and guilt passed over Ashley’s face.

“Well, then I guess it’s a good thing the backup tapes went missing,” Ashley said. Hanna’s eyebrows shot up and she looked at her mother for the first time.

“ _What_?” she asked in disbelief. Ashley nodded.

“I got a call from the security company this morning. The backup tapes are missing,” she repeated. 

“Mom… Did you?” Hanna asked. Ashley’s lips formed a thin line.

“Why don’t you go home, Hanna? Spencer, would you take her home?” Ashley asked, ignoring the question. Hanna frowned.

“I’m not going home. I’ll be at Spencer’s,” she said, turning on her heel and storming out of the room. Spencer gave Ashley an apologetic look and followed Hanna out of the room.

“Spence? Will you come to New York with me?” Hanna asked in the car. Spencer frowned.

“Of course I will, but why?”

“I want to get my stuff out of the apartment. I’m afraid of what Jordan will do if he gets there before me,” Hanna admitted. Spencer nodded and kissed Hanna’s cheek.

“Okay. Do you want to see if Emily and Aria can come?” Spencer asked. Hanna nodded.

“Yeah. Do you mind?” she asked worriedly. Spencer laughed and kissed her again.

“No, I don’t mind. It’ll be fun!” she said. Hanna smiled.

“Will you call them and ask them to meet us at your house?” Hanna asked. Spencer sent them both quick texts. Less than a minute later, they had both replied.

“They’ll be here in ten minutes.”


	5. Chapter 5

                “What do we tell them?” Hanna asked nervously, picking at her nails. Spencer put her hand on top of Hanna’s.

                “Whatever you want to tell them,” she said simply. Hanna shook her head.

                “No, I mean about us,” she clarified. Spencer lifted Hanna’s hand to her lips and pressed a gentle kiss against it.

                “Whatever you want to tell them,” she repeated. Hanna smiled and started to play with Spencer’s hand. She’d never noticed how long and delicate her friend’s fingers were.

                “Well, what if I want to tell them that you’re my girlfriend?” she asked. Spencer tried to keep a grin from spreading across her face.

                “Is that what you want?” she asked. Hanna shrugged.

                “I know I said I wanted to move slowly, but… I really like the way calling you my girlfriend sounds,” she admitted. Spencer laughed.

                “I like the way it sounds too,” she said. Before Hanna could reply, there was a knock at the door. Spencer got up to let her two best friends in.

                “What’s going on? You said it was an emergency,” Emily said, rushing inside. She caught a glimpse of Hanna’s face and froze, causing Aria to bump into her.

                “Emily, what the hell?” Aria asked. This seemed to kick Emily into high gear, as the other girl rushed over to her friend.

                “What happened? Who did this? Was it A?” Emily demanded. Aria gasped and also ran over to the blonde. Hanna fidgeted and Spencer could tell she was getting nervous. She took a seat next to her _girlfriend_ and put a calming hand on her back.

                “Guys, give her a little room, okay?” she suggested, though her tone suggested she was prepared to force them to move. Emily frowned, but backed away.

                “It wasn’t A. It was Jordan,” Hanna whispered. She was beyond tired of having to explain everything when she still hadn’t wrapped her own head around it. Immediately she was bombarded with a storm of questions, and she shot Spencer a desperate look. Spencer put her hand up.

                “Let her breathe. She broke up with him this morning and she wants to know if we’ll go to New York with her to get her things out of her apartment,” Spencer explained. Aria nodded.

                “Of course we’ll go with you,” she said, cautiously putting her hand on Hanna’s knee. Emily nodded.

                “Where are you staying?” Emily asked. Hanna bit her lip nervously, glancing at Spencer.

                “Um, I’m staying here,” she said. To their credit, neither girl asked why she’d decided to run to Spencer instead of either of them.

                “We can take my car. It has the most space. It still probably won’t be enough room, but,”

                “It’ll be fine,” Hanna interrupted, cutting Emily off.

                “All right then, are we ready to go?” Spencer asked. They all nodded and piled into Emily’s car. Spencer and Hanna took the backseat, while Aria sat up front with Emily.

                “When did this happen?” Emily asked, glancing at Hanna in the rearview mirror. Hanna bit her lip. If she admitted that it had happened after she told Jordan about the tape, she knew Aria would feel guilty. She felt Spencer rub her hand reassuringly.

                “The other night after dinner. He uh, wasn’t very happy about seeing Caleb there,” Hanna said, telling herself it wasn’t actually a lie. He had given her a bruise that night, just not the one Emily was asking about.

                “Are you going to get back together with Caleb?” Aria asked, looking back at Hanna. The blonde snorted.

                “No, I’m not getting back together with Caleb,” she said, sounding both amused and impatient. Spencer hid a smile, and Hanna looked at her out of the corner of her eye.

                “I am dating someone else though,” she admitted. Emily and Aria both turned around to stare at her, Emily’s actions causing the car to swerve.

                “Emily! Keep your eyes on the road before you kill us all!” Spencer snapped. Emily turned back, rolling her eyes.

                “I thought you just broke up with Jordan this morning? Were you cheating on him?” Aria asked, rather tactlessly. Spencer glared at her.

                “That wouldn’t excuse what he did,” she said angrily. Aria put her hands up.

                “Of course it wouldn’t! I didn’t mean that. I was just curious,” she defended herself. Hanna squeezed Spencer’s hand.

                “Actually, I’m dating Spencer,” she announced. The car filled with silence.

                “What?” Emily asked after a minute, though she kept her eyes on the road.

                “When did this happen?” Aria asked. Spencer smiled at her girlfriend.

                “She told me yesterday,” Spencer answered.

                “This is so exciting! You two are adorable together!” Aria exclaimed, to both Hanna and Spencer’s surprise.

                “You’re not upset?” Spencer asked carefully. Aria frowned slightly.

                “Why would we be upset?” Emily asked.

                “I don’t know… We’re all friends. I guess it could just be a little bit weird,” Spencer explained. Aria shook her head, turning around so she could look at her two friends.

                “As long as you two don’t start making out in front of us all the time, I promise it isn’t weird. I’m happy for you two,” she said, reaching her hand toward Hanna. The blonde beamed and clasped their hands together.

                “Thanks, Ar,” she said. Aria smiled again. Emily glanced at her friends in the rearview mirror.

                “I’m just glad you’re safe, Han. All this time we’ve been worrying about this new A and we should have been worrying about you,” Emily said, regret heavy in her voice. Hanna started to shake her head, but Aria interrupted her.

                “God, you must think we’re terrible friends,” she said. Hanna frowned.

                “Why would I think that?” she asked.

                “We were going on about how great he seemed and the whole time… We should have noticed!” Aria exclaimed in frustration. Hanna shook her head.

                “I don’t think you guys are terrible friends. It wasn’t even that bad.  It just happened when he got really mad. I’m probably over—”

                Spencer squeezed Hanna’s hand.

                “You don’t have to make excuses for him anymore, babe. You’re safe now,” she whispered. Hanna stared at her girlfriend, eyes wide.

                “I didn’t even mean to…” she whispered. Spencer tucked a strand of hair behind Hanna’s ear and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

                “I know.”

                “I guess I got so used to making excuses to myself that it’s hard to quit,” she said in a small voice, ashamed.

                “You don’t have to explain it to me,” Spencer said softly. Hanna sighed, and laid her head on Spencer’s shoulder. Though she’d only been awake for a few hours, she was exhausted.

                The four girls lapsed into a comfortable silence, watching the miles between Rosewood and New York pass by.

                “Where are we going to put all the stuff that doesn’t fit in the car?” Emily asked as they began to drive into the city.

                “I’m only taking what will fit,” Hanna said. Emily frowned.

                “Han, you do see this car, right? That won’t be very much,” she pointed out. Hanna shrugged.

                “I don’t care. Maybe I’ll come back to sort things out later. It doesn’t matter. Besides, it’s the perfect excuse to buy more clothes,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant. Truthfully, she just wanted to get in there, get the things she couldn’t live without, and get out. If she never saw the inside of that apartment again, she’d be perfectly happy with it. Out of nowhere, tears began to sting at her eyes.

                “Stop the car,” she said. Emily frowned.

                “What?”

                “Stop the car! Please, just stop the car!” she cried, starting to hyperventilate. Emily quickly pulled over. Hanna unbuckled her seatbelt and flung the door open, vomiting onto the street.

                “Hanna, baby, what’s wrong?” Spencer asked softly, rubbing Hanna’s back.

                “It’s too much. I’m scared, Spencer. You saw how pissed Jordan was… He’s dangerous,” she whispered, images of the things he could do flashing through her mind. Spencer pulled the blonde back into the car and into a tight hug.

                “Sweetie, don’t worry about that, okay? Don’t worry about him. Emily’s going to start driving because we can’t stay parked here, okay? But just breathe,” Spencer instructed, running her fingers through Hanna’s hair. Hanna nodded, her tears leaking onto Spencer’s shirt. Emily slowly eased back onto the road, and Spencer re-buckled the blonde’s seatbelt.

                “I could have done that myself,” Hanna muttered.

                “Do you want to talk about this?” Spencer asked quietly, speaking only to Hanna.

                “Not right now,” she whispered. Spencer nodded in understanding, and kissed the top of Hanna’s head. Aria turned around and held out a water bottle in a silent offer. Hanna accepted gratefully, and rinsed her mouth out before laying her head back on Spencer’s shoulder.

                “We’ll just be in and out, okay? Then we’ll go back to Rosewood. Caleb will stay in the barn with us. He won’t let Jordan get anywhere near you, okay? We can call Toby again, and I’ll talk some sense into him,” Spencer promised. Hanna nodded against her shoulder.

                “Han, I’m going to need you to give me directions from here,” Emily said apologetically. Hanna swallowed thickly and sat up, wiping her eyes.

                “Yeah, okay,” she said. She guided Emily down the streets that she knew so well, and within minutes they arrived at her apartment.

                “Are you ready?” Spencer asked softly. Hanna nodded.

                “As ready as I’ll ever be.”


	6. Chapter 6

                The apartment was completely trashed. Dishes were broken, clothes thrown on the floor, even food smashed against the wall. The four girls stood frozen in the doorway.

                “Han,” Spencer started carefully. The blonde ignored her, and walked down the hall, toward her bedroom. Spencer sighed, but didn’t follow.

                “Let me try,” Aria suggested.  

                “Should we clean up?” Emily asked.

                “No. Let’s just grab some of her things and get out of here,” Spencer said. Emily began to pick up some of the clothes off the floor, and sighed.

                “What’s wrong?” Spencer asked.

                “They’re ripped,” Emily said, holding up a dress. Spencer bit back a curse, and prayed things were going better in the other room.

\--

                “Han?” Aria asked softly, knocking on the door. No reply. She sighed and eased the door open. Hanna was sitting on the bed, her shoulders shaking as she cried silently. Aria rushed over to her friend.

                “Han, what happened?” she asked. The words had barely left her mouth when she discovered the cause of Hanna’s tears. Scattered on the nightstand and bed were torn up photos: pictures of the girls in high school, prom, Hanna and Caleb, her mother, college graduation, all of the pictures Hanna had held near. All of them had been ripped up. Aria could kill that son of a bitch.

                “Oh, Hanna,” Aria whispered, wrapping her arms around Hanna. The contact made the blonde start crying harder, but when Aria tried to pull away, Hanna clung to her. At the sound of her girlfriend crying, Spencer came running into the room, Emily close behind.

                “What’s wrong?” she demanded worriedly. Aria nodded down at the torn photos. A furious look flickered over Spencer’s face before she composed herself and came over to the bed. She knelt down and rubbed Hanna’s arm.

                “Let’s go home, baby,” she said gently. Hanna shook her head.

                “I can’t go home,” she whispered. Spencer furrowed her eyebrows.

“Why not?” she asked. Hanna handed her a piece of paper, refusing to look at her. Spencer frowned and read the note. What she saw made her blood run cold. _You can’t get away from me. Come home tonight or suffer the consequences._ She folded the paper back up and put it in her pocket. Toby couldn’t ignore this.

“Hanna,” she said softly. The blonde didn’t respond.

“Han, look at me.”

Still no response. Spencer sighed and reached out to gently tilt Hanna’s chin up, forcing her to make eye contact.

“Listen to me, Hanna. He is never going to touch you again. The backup tapes are gone. You can go to the police without worrying about it being brought up. Even if he were to say something, no one could prove it. I’m not going to let him hurt you,” she promised.

“You’ve survived scarier monsters than this,” Aria added. Hanna shook her head. Nothing she had faced in her past was as scary as Jordan. Not A, not Charlotte, not jail, not the Dollhouse.

“I’m so tired of fighting,” she whispered. Spencer sighed again and squeezed her girlfriend’s hand.        

“You’re not alone anymore. We have your back, all of us.”

“I don’t want him to hurt you,” Hanna said, finally voicing her biggest fear. Emily cautiously sat down next to her friend.

“Don’t worry about us, Han. We can take care of ourselves,” she promised. As she said the words, she realized how bad it sounded.

“And I can’t?” Hanna shot back.

“That’s not what she meant,” Aria said gently.

“But it’s what you’re all thinking. ‘Stupid Hanna can’t even protect herself from her boyfriend’. I’ve always been the weakest link. A knew it, I know it, and all of you know it too.”

“Stop it,” Spencer said angrily. “You are not the weak link, nor have you ever been. Each and every one of us has done things we regret, things that were stupid. But this? This was not you being stupid, Hanna. This wasn’t your fault.”

Hanna looked at her with watery eyes.

“Can we please go home now?” she asked, her voice shaking. Spencer nodded.

“Of course we can,” she agreed. The four girls quickly left the apartment, not bothering to take anything besides Hanna’s wallet and some cash, which luckily she had kept locked in a safe that only she had the combination to.

“Do you want us to stay over tonight?” Aria asked an hour later, as they were driving back to Rosewood. “It could be like old times, a sleepover with the four of us.”

“Ar, they might want some time to themselves,” Emily said pointedly. Hanna and Spencer both blushed.

“I would love for you to stay over tonight. If it’s okay with Spence,” she said quickly, remembering that it was her barn they were staying in. Spencer smiled.

“Of course! Besides, we still have to figure out what to do about this new A,” Spencer said. Hanna grimaced.

“Do you have to call him that? This isn’t A.”

“What should we call him then?” Emily asked. Hanna shrugged.

“I don’t know. Evil Emoji?” she suggested, making the other girls laugh.

“I like it. Evil Emoji,” Aria repeated, nodding her head in approval. They fell into a comfortable silence that lasted until reaching the “Welcome to Rosewood” sign.

“Who do you think did it?” Emily asked quietly.

“It could have been anyone,” Aria said, thinking of her father and Ezra. Either one of them could have done it, and they both had motive.

“Mona changed her tune awfully fast in that courtroom,” Spencer mused.

“So did we,” Hanna pointed out. “Maybe someone coerced her testimony, just like Ali did to us.”

“But who would have done that? Ali’s the only person who wanted her out, and there’s no way she could convince Mona to lie,” Emily said.

“What if they made a deal? Mona speaks up for Charlotte, and in return, Charlotte doesn’t tell the police what Mona did,” Aria suggested. Spencer shook her head.

“Why would Charlotte wait five years? She could have told the police years ago,” she argued. Hanna rubbed her eyes tiredly, relieved that they were finally pulling into Spencer’s driveway. Her relief disappeared when she heard Emily’s next comment.

“Is that a police car?”

               

 


	7. Chapter 7

                “Don’t worry, it’s just Toby,” Spencer said. Hanna frowned.

                “How do you know?” she asked. Spencer shrugged.

                “I recognize his license plate. Wait here and I’ll go see what he wants,” she said. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t want to talk to Toby about Hanna’s situation, but she would be pissed if he was just here to make Hanna feel worse.

                “What are you doing here?” she asked coldly. Toby sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.

                “I wanted to apologize. I was an ass earlier. It’s not an excuse, but I was thinking about Yvonne. With her mom running for senator, the spotlight is on her. And I’m her boyfriend, which means everything I do reflects on her. I was thinking about Yvonne, and I should have been thinking about Hanna. Nothing she did could ever excuse her fiancé. I’m sorry,” he said. Spencer softened.

                “I understand trying to protect someone you love. But I’m not the person you need to apologize to,” she pointed out. He nodded.

                “Can I talk to her?” he asked.

                “Yeah. We’ll meet you in the barn in a minute.”

                Spencer went back to the car and opened the door. Hanna looked at her, her eyes wide and worried.

                “It’s okay. He just wants to talk. Are you okay with that?” she asked. Hanna nodded.

                “Yeah. Could… Could Spencer and I do this alone?” she asked nervously, afraid of her friends’ reactions. Emily and Aria both nodded quickly.

                “Of course, Han. We’ll call you later, okay?” Aria promised. After Emily’s car pulled away, Spencer led Hanna into the barn. Toby was pacing around the living room.

                “Spencer said you wanted to talk,” Hanna said softly. Toby stopped pacing.

                “Hanna, I am so sorry for how I reacted earlier. I was cold and accusing, and I should have been compassionate. I’m sorry.”

                “It’s okay. I know I messed up,” Hanna whispered. Toby shook his head.

                “It doesn’t matter. And, by the way, the backup tapes were misplaced. So there’s no need to worry about that. If you want, I’d be happy to take you down to the police statement and get your statement. We can bring Jordan in tonight,” he offered. Hanna looked at Spencer nervously.

                “Can you keep him? Or will he be out on bail in a few hours?” Hanna asked. Toby shrugged.

                “Based on what you’ve said about him, he’d probably be out on bail pretty quickly,” he admitted.

                “I don’t think I should press charges,” Hanna said. Spencer and Toby both frowned.

                “Hanna, you need to,” Spencer said softly.

                “You saw what he did. You read the note. If I make him angrier… Who knows what he’ll do,” Hanna said fearfully.

                “I won’t let him hurt you again,” Spencer said forcefully, grabbing her hand.

                “What note? What did he do?” Toby asked. Spencer pulled the note out of her pocket and handed it to Toby. His frown deepened as he read it.

                “He also trashed their apartment. Broke dishes, tore up photos, that sort of thing,” Spencer explained.

                “This note might convince a judge to hold him without bail. And even if it doesn’t, we can place you under police protection,” he said. Spencer raised an eyebrow.

                “Since when does the Rosewood PD protect people?” she asked. Toby winced.

                “Well, if I need to camp out outside here to make sure that creep doesn’t come after Hanna, I will,” he said seriously. Hanna gaped at him, her eyes shiny.

                “You would do that for me?” she asked in amazement. He nodded.

                “Hanna, you’re my friend. I know I did a bad job showing it earlier, but I care about you. Spencer’s right. We’re not going to let him hurt you again,” Toby promised. Spencer gave Toby an appreciative smile.

                “I can even take your official statement here, if you’d prefer. We will need to take pictures to document the abuse, but we can do it all here,” Toby offered. Hanna flinched at the word abuse, but nodded.

                “Okay. Can Spencer stay?” she asked hopefully. Toby nodded.

                “Of course. I just need you to go over your story again. Be as detailed as you can, okay?” he asked. Hanna took a deep breath, and began to recount her story. She told Toby about the first time Jordan had hit her, after one of his business deals had fallen through. She told him how Jordan’s anger had increased over time. She told him about the night of Alison’s dinner party, and the previous morning. Finally she told him about the wrecked apartment. By the time she finished, she was shaking and crying, but felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

                “Do you want to take a break before we take pictures?” Toby asked. Hanna shook her head.

                “Let’s just get this over with,” she mumbled. Toby nodded and took an evidence camera out of his bag.

                “You brought that with you?” Spencer asked. Toby raised an eyebrow.

                “Like I said, I screwed up before. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again,” he said. Hanna swallowed heavily.

                “So how do we do this?” she asked.

                “I need to take photos of any visible injuries. So, uh, obviously your face. Is there anything else?” he asked. Hanna nodded and carefully pulled her shirt off.

                “I’ll be fast,” he promised. Hanna looked away, and Toby photographed the bruises on her stomach and back.

                “You can put your shirt back on,” he said. Hanna quickly did so. Finally, Toby documented the bruises and cut on her face.

                “Okay. I’m finished,” he said.

                “Now what?” Hanna asked worriedly. Spencer grasped her hand.

                “Now I go track him down and arrest him. You two stay here, keep the door locked. I’ll keep an eye on his case, and if a judge does set bail, I’ll let you know and we’ll figure something out. Sound good?”

                Spencer and Hanna both nodded, though the blonde was still worried.

                “Thank you for doing this, Toby,” she said. He shook his head.

                “I should have done this yesterday. I’ll work on getting a restraining order too,” he promised.

                “Thank you,” Spencer said.

                “Can I talk to you for a second, Spence?” he asked. She nodded, and they walked out of the living room and into the entryway.

                “Is she staying with you?” he asked. Spencer nodded.

                “Good. Listen, I’m going to go look for him, and I won’t stop until I find him. But I’m not going to lie, I don’t like the look of that note. Keep your doors locked and stay inside. Either have your friends come over now, or tell them to wait. Don’t open this door, okay?” he cautioned.

                “You think he’s going to come after her,” she stated. He nodded.

                “I’m afraid it’s a possibility. I don’t know if he’ll come looking here, but I want you guys to be safe if he does. I’d call in a car to watch you guys, but give your history with the Rosewood PD…”

                “They don’t take us seriously,” she said. Toby nodded apologetically.

                “It’s not right, but there’s no way Tanner would spare someone. Is Caleb still staying here?” he asked. Spencer nodded.

                “Okay. Keep her safe. I’ll call you when I have more information,” he promised.

                “Thanks,” Spencer said softly. Toby nodded, and left. Spencer sighed and sent a text to Caleb, asking him to come out to the barn. Within seconds, he was there.

                “Everything okay?” he asked. Spencer shook her head.

                “No. Nothing’s okay. But Toby’s helping,” she said. The two rejoined Hanna in the living room. She looked up as they walked in.

                “Hey,” she said.

                “Hey,” Spencer responded, sitting down next to her.

                “He’s never going to let me get away,” Hanna whispered. Spencer grasped her hand.

                “Listen to me, Hanna. He’s never going to hurt you again. We won’t let that happen. Okay?” Spencer promised. Hanna nodded.

                “Okay.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning: Violence and rape

_It was all too easy for Jordan to sneak into the barn. All he had to do was pry open the bedroom window while they slept. He crept into the room and jabbed a needle full of sedatives into Spencer’s arm. He grabbed Hanna, pressing a cloth doused with chloroform to her mouth. Then he snuck back out through the window, taking Hanna with him._

“Spencer? Spencer, it’s past ten,” Caleb said, knocking on her bedroom door. He wasn’t surprised that Hanna was still asleep, but it was odd that Spencer hadn’t stirred yet. She never slept past eight-thirty. He knocked again, but no one answered. He considered letting them sleep, but was starting to feel concerned. Finally, he opened the door.

“Spencer!” he yelled, running over to the unconscious girl. An empty syringe was next to her arm, and Hanna was missing. He shook her, and her eyes fluttered open.

“Where am I?” she asked groggily.

“Spencer, where’s Hanna?” Caleb asked. Spencer looked at him with unfocused eyes. He groaned and picked her up. She was surprisingly light. He carried her out to the car and started driving to the hospital. While he was driving, he called Toby.

“Officer Cavanaugh,” Toby answered.

“It’s Caleb. Something happened. I’m taking Spencer to the hospital. I think she’s been drugged. Hanna’s missing,” he explained urgently.

“I’ll meet you there,” Toby said.

Once they arrived at the hospital, Spencer was rushed away by a doctor. Caleb sat down in the waiting room, and waited for Toby to arrive. A minute later, he rushed in, looking worried.

“How is she?” he asked immediately.

“I haven’t seen her yet. Any sign of Jordan?”

Toby shook his head.

“I’ve been searching for him all night. No sign of him anywhere.”

“He has Hanna, doesn’t he?” Caleb asked, already knowing the answer. Toby didn’t say anything. The two sat in silence, neither one knowing what to say. A half hour later, an annoyed looking Spencer came into the waiting room. She was in a wheelchair being pushed by a nurse.

“I don’t need a damn wheelchair!” she complained.

“Is she okay?” Toby asked, flashing his badge. Spencer widened her eyes at the sight of her ex-boyfriend.

“I’m fine,” Spencer said. The nurse resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

“Your friend had quite the cocktail of drugs in her system. We gave her something to reduce the effect, but she might be confused or dizzy for the next twenty-four hours,” she explained.

“Thank you,” Toby said. Spencer looked back and forth between the two men.

“What happened?” she asked. Caleb sighed.

“When no one came out of your room this morning, I got concerned. I came in and… You were unconscious. The window was open, and Hanna was gone,” he explained. Spencer’s eyes widened in horror.

“He took her,” she said. Caleb nodded.

“It seems like it.”

Spencer put her head in her hands, her body shaking as she began to cry. Toby knelt down next to her and rubbed her back.

“This is all my fault. I promised to protect her! And he took her right from under my nose! ” she cried. Caleb shook his head.

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have done anything. We’re lucky he just drugged you and didn’t kill you. If you want to blame someone, blame me. I slept through the whole thing,” he said self-deprecatingly. Spencer didn’t argue with him. Instead, she turned her attention toward Toby.

“How are we going to get her back?” she asked. Toby sighed.

“I’ve got men looking everywhere for Jordan. Unfortunately, all we can do is wait,” he said. Spencer shook her head.

“That’s not good enough!” she exclaimed.

“I know,” Toby agreed. “But it’s the only thing we can do.”

“I’ll take you home,” Caleb said softly.

“And I’ll call if I hear anything,” Toby promised. Spencer didn’t respond to either of them. Her only thoughts were of Hanna.

\--

It was nightfall, and Toby hadn’t called yet. Caleb had let Emily and Aria know what had happened, and asked them not to come over. Spencer had been circling between crying and yelling and blaming herself all day. The doorbell rang.

                “I’ll go get it,” Spencer said, her voice devoid of emotion. She got up and opened the door, frowning when she didn’t see anyone. Then she noticed the crumpled up form on her doorstep, and she screamed. Caleb came running.

                “Oh my god,” he gasped, looking at Hanna’s naked and bruised body. Spencer put her fingers on Hanna’s neck, trying to find a pulse. She let out a sigh of relief when she could one.

                “Go get her a blanket. We need to go to the hospital,” Spencer ordered. Caleb nodded. In minutes, the three were in the car. Another five minutes, and they were at the hospital.

                “It’s going to be okay, Hanna,” Spencer whispered to her girlfriend as she was wheeled away. She prayed she was right.

\--

                “You may go back and see her. But only one of you,” a doctor said, addressing the three people in the waiting room for the first time in four hours. Spencer quickly stood to follow.

                “I’ll be guarding her room,” Toby said, standing as well. He was in uniform, and the doctor didn’t argue.

                “How is she?” Spencer asked worriedly.

                “She’s been injured badly. She’s lucky to be alive. She will heal, but be prepared. It’s going to be a very long journey,” the doctor warned.

 Spencer swallowed thickly before pushing the door open. Her heart broke at the sight of Hanna in the hospital bed. She looked so small, so broken. She was covered in white plaster casts, and where her skin was bare, it was blue with bruises. Even her neck was covered in deep purple handprints. Spencer sat down in a chair next to the bed and she grasped one of Hanna’s hands.

“I’m so sorry, Hanna. I should have been able to keep you safe. I’m so sorry,” Spencer apologized, tears falling down her face.

\--

                Hanna woke up, feeling only pain. Every cell in her body hurt, and she could only open one eye. But there was one other thing she felt. A warm hand was wrapped around her hand, and she could feel hot breath on her neck. She painfully turned her head and smiled at the sight. Spencer was sitting in a chair, asleep, her head resting on Hanna’s bed. She squeezed Spencer’s hand lightly, and the brunette’s eyes fluttered open.

                “Hanna, thank God,” Spencer sighed. Hanna struggled to sit up and Spencer put a hand on her shoulder.

                “Don’t try to move. How do you feel?” she asked. Hanna opened her mouth to speak, but only a raspy groan came out. Spencer grabbed a cup of ice chips that the doctor had brought in and slipped one in Hanna’s mouth. The blonde sucked on it greedily, the cool ice soothing the burn in her throat.

                “I feel like I got hit by a truck. What happened?”

                Spencer frowned.

                “You don’t remember?” she asked worriedly. Hanna closed her eyes.

                “I remember watching a movie with you and Caleb. We went to sleep. I remember you kissing me good night. I think I woke up at some point, but…” she trailed off, tears leaking out of her eyes.

                “It’s okay, baby,” Spencer whispered, gently stroking Hanna’s cheek. Hanna turned her head so she could nuzzle Spencer’s hand.

                “All I remember after that is pain,” she said.

                “The doctor wouldn’t tell me anything about your condition. I should probably go tell her you’re awake,” Spencer said.

                “Don’t go,” Hanna said in a small voice. Spencer thought for a minute. Finally it occurred to her to hit the nurse button. A minute later, a nurse walked in.

                “Oh, good. You’re awake. Let me go grab the doctor,” the nurse said.

                “Miss Marin, I’m Doctor Winters. How are you feeling?” the doctor asked when she walked in.

                “Can Spencer see my file?” she asked without answering their question. Dr. Winters frowned at the request.

                “I suppose, if you want her to,” she said. Hanna nodded.

                “I do,” she said. The doctor handed the file to Spencer.

                “How’s your pain? We could give you more meds,” the doctor offered. Hanna shook her head.

                “I’m fine. I just want to be alone with my girlfriend,” she said. The doctor nodded in understanding.

                “All right. I’ll be back to check on you in a while,” she said.

                “Thank you,” Spencer said. The doctor left, leaving Spencer and Hanna alone. Spencer flipped open the file, reading Hanna’s long list of injuries.

                “What’s wrong with me?” Hanna asked quietly.

                “Are you sure you want to hear it all right now?” Spencer asked. Hanna nodded. With a sigh, Spencer began to read the file.

                “The doctors performed a rape kit, which they’ll send to the police if you consent. It looks like your eye is swollen shut. You have six broken ribs, a broken wrist, a broken leg, a twisted ankle, a broken nose, and a broken hand. The doctor said it looks like you probably got a punch in, which is what broke your hand. He… He choked you pretty badly, and your throat is bruised. You’ve also got some all over bruising,” she said, watching carefully for Hanna’s reaction. For several long minutes, Hanna didn’t say anything. Then, without warning, she started crying.

                “Oh, sweetie,” Spencer said, carefully sitting on the edge of the bed so she could pull Hanna into her arms. The blonde’s cries turned to breathless sobs that wracked her entire body.

                “I can’t remember any of this. Why can’t I remember?” she gasped. Spencer smoothed her hair.

                “The doctors found traces of chloroform in your system. You were drugged,” Spencer explained.

“Why didn’t you wake up when he took me?” she asked, accusation in her eyes. Spencer sighed.

“He drugged me too.”

“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Hanna demanded. Spencer shook her head.

“No. Caleb found me this morning. Jordan left the syringe behind, and Caleb brought me to the hospital. They reversed the effects of the drugs,” she said. Hanna calmed down slightly.

“What time is it?” Hanna asked. Spencer glanced at her watch.

“It’s almost midnight,” she said. Hanna’s open eye widened.

“I forgot an entire day?” she asked in shock. Suddenly another thought occurred to her.

“Where is he? Did the police get him? How did you find me?” she asked. Spencer sighed.

“No, the police haven’t found him yet. But they’re going to, Han. And he can’t get in here. Toby’s outside the door. No one will get in here,” she promised.

“How did you find me?” she asked again.

“He… He left you on my doorstep,” she said, tears filling her eyes. Hanna closed her eyes, horrified.

“Will you… Can you lay with me? Hold me?” she asked. Spencer nodded and slid into the bed. She put her arm around Hanna, being careful not to disrupt any of the casts on her body.

“It hurts,” Hanna whimpered. Spencer kissed her forehead.

“Let me call thee nurse. They said you could have more pain meds,” Spencer said. Hanna shook her head.

“I don’t want to sleep,” Hanna said. Spencer frowned, and ran her fingers through Hanna’s hair. There was a gentle knock on the door, and Toby walked in, carrying a cup of coffee. He had to stop himself from doing a double take, unable to believe the condition Hanna was in.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, sitting in the chair Spencer had vacated.

“Like shit,” Hanna replied honestly.

“Where’d you get that coffee? You weren’t supposed to move from outside that door,” Spencer said, eyeing the coffee suspiciously. Toby rolled his eyes and handed the coffee to her.

“I didn’t get it. Caleb brought it up for you,” he said. Reassured that Toby hadn’t left his guard, Spencer accepted the coffee.

“Caleb’s here?” Hanna asked. Toby nodded.

“Do you want to see him?” Spencer asked. Hanna shook her head.

“No. Not tonight. Is that okay?” she asked. Spencer nodded.

“Of course it is, sweetie,” she said. Just then, Toby’s phone rang. He stepped outside to answer it. A minute later, he walked back in.

“They found him.”


	9. Chapter 9

                “Well, what the hell are you waiting for? Go arrest him!” Hanna exclaimed. Toby glanced at Spencer.

                “Will you guys be okay here?” he asked. Spencer nodded.

                “Yeah, we’ll be fine. You go,” she said.

                “I’ll check in later,” Toby promised. A second after he left, the door opened again and the doctor walked in.

                “Miss Marin, I received some of your test results. We need to talk,” Dr. Winters said seriously, giving Spencer a pointed look. It didn’t go unnoticed by Hanna.

                “No, she’s staying,” Hanna insisted. The doctor nodded.

                “All right. Miss Marin, did you know that you were pregnant?” she asked. Hanna’s jaw dropped and she shook her head.

                “No, no, that’s impossible. I can’t be pregnant. I _always_ use protection!” she argued. The doctor shrugged.

                “The test results were conclusive. You’re pregnant.”

                “Did… How did the baby survive this attack?” Spencer asked. Dr. Winters gave them a small smile.

                “Well, at this point in the pregnancy, the fetus is protected by the pelvic bones. However, given the amount of overall trauma, it’s amazing the fetus survived. I’m not going to lie, there’s still a great risk of miscarriage, but it’s a miracle that the fetus is even still alive.”

                “Stop calling it a fetus!” Hanna cried.

                “I apologize, Miss Marin. Now, I need to run a few tests on the fe-baby. Wait here, and I’ll send a nurse in to get you,” she said. Hanna nodded. Once the doctor left, Hanna burst into tears.

                “Oh, sweetie,” Spencer sighed, hugging her girlfriend.

                “I don’t even know how I got pregnant,” she said. Suddenly, she flashed back to a night a couple of months ago. She had been on antibiotics, and had wanted to wait to have sex until she was off of them. Jordan had complied, until one night Hanna had woken up to him shaking her awake, demanding they have sex. She’d resisted, but eventually given in.

                “Oh god,” she whimpered. Spencer stroked her cheek softly.

                “What am I going to do?” she asked.

                “What do you want to do?” Spencer asked. Hanna shrugged.

                “I don’t know. I’ve always wanted a baby. And this… this is my baby. And it’s a miracle that she even survived today. Doesn’t that mean something?” she asked. Spencer sighed, and didn’t answer.

                “But at the same time, it’s _his_ baby too. Do I really want to have part of him growing inside me for nine months? Do I really want to raise his child?”

                “That’s something you have to answer for yourself, sweetie,” Spencer said.

                “Oh god, what if I decide to have the baby and he tries to take her away from me?” she asked. The heart rate monitor started beeping erratically, and Spencer grabbed Hanna’s hand.

                “You need to breathe, sweetie. Don’t worry right now, okay? You don’t have to decide anything tonight. And no matter what you decide, he will _not_ get that baby, okay?”

                Hanna nodded, taking a deep breath.

                “Maybe I’m being silly. The doctor said I’m probably going to lose the baby anyway,” she said. Spencer rubbed the back of her hand.

                “Han, the doctor said the baby is at risk. She didn’t say you’d probably lose the baby,” she reminded her.

                “I just don’t want to get my hopes up. You know how much I want a baby,” she said. Spencer nodded. She’d never forget the night three years ago when Hanna showed up on her doorstep, sobbing that she’d had a miscarriage.

                “I know, Han. I know. Just try not to panic right now. Let the doctor run the tests and focus on getting better. We can worry about the baby once you get out of the hospital,” she said. Hanna nodded.

                “You’re right,” she agreed.

                A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and the nurse entered.

                “I’m just going to take you back so the doctor can run a few tests, okay? It shouldn’t take too long. By the way, there are a couple of women in the waiting room asking about you,” she said. Spencer gave Hanna a gentle kiss.

                “I’ll go talk to them. I’ll see you when they’re done with the tests,” she said.

“Don’t tell them about the baby,” Hanna said as the nurse helped her into a wheel chair. Spencer nodded and watched the nurse to wheel Hanna out. She went down to the waiting room and raised her eyebrows at the audience that had gathered.

                “What are you guys doing here?” she asked. Caleb put his hands up.     

                “I didn’t tell them to come here,” he said.

                “We were worried. How is she?” Emily asked.

                “Can we see her?” Aria added. Spencer shook her head.

                “She’s having some tests done right now. She’s… She’s in bad shape,” she admitted. Emily’s face fell.

                “She wants to see you guys, she’s just really exhausted, and the nurse said only one visitor at a time,” Spencer explained, feeling bad. She turned her gaze to Caleb.

                “I’m surprised you’re still here,” she said. He shrugged.

                “I was going to leave, but… I don’t know. I couldn’t go,” he said.

                “Have they found Jordan?” Aria asked. Spencer nodded.

                “Yeah, they called Toby about a half hour ago. He went to go arrest him. I haven’t heard anything else yet, but he’s supposed to call,” she explained.

                “Do you think we should tell Alison what’s going on?” Aria asked. Spencer shrugged. Honestly, Alison was the last thing on her mind.

                “We should at least tell her Hanna’s in the hospital. She’d want to know,” Emily insisted.

                “It’s the middle of the night. You can call her in the morning. If you call her now, she’ll just worry. Hanna really shouldn’t have any visitors until then anyway,” Spencer said. Emily sighed.

                “I guess you’re right. I just wish I was doing something useful,” she said.

                “Shit, has anyone called Ashley?” Aria asked. Spencer and Caleb shook their heads.

                “Come on, Spence. We should at least call her mom,” Emily said. Spencer shook her head again.

                “I’ll talk to Hanna, and ask what she wants to do. She really, really doesn’t need more stress tonight, and you know Ashley would be here in seconds if we called her.”

                “Yeah, but Spence, it’s her mom,” Emily said, her brows furrowed. “She deserves to know.”

                “Let me talk to Hanna. Speaking of which, she’s going to be back from her tests soon and I don’t want her to come back to an empty room. You guys should go get some sleep. There’s no sense sitting around the waiting room,” she suggested.

                “Just because you’re dating her now doesn’t mean you’re the only one who cares about her,” Emily said angrily. Spencer opened her mouth to retort, but Caleb cut her off.

                “Spencer’s right. The doctors will only let Hanna have one visitor, and she wants Spencer right now. Let’s all go home, and we’ll come back tomorrow. If Hanna wants to tell her mom tonight, Spencer will call her,” he said. Emily huffed, but didn’t argue.

                “Fine. We’ll be back in the morning,” she said angrily before stalking out.

                “She’s kinda my ride,” Aria said, quickly rushing after Emily. “Tell Hanna we love her!”

                Spencer nodded at Aria’s retreating form.

                “Thanks for that,” Spencer said.

                “No problem. I’m going to head out too. Take care of her, okay?” he said. Spencer nodded, and was left alone in the waiting room. She sighed, and headed back to Hanna’s room.

                She’d only been sitting in the uncomfortable hospital chair for a couple of minutes when the nurse wheeled Hanna back in.

                “Is everything okay?” she asked.

                “As okay as they can be,” Hanna said, glaring at the nurse as the woman eased her back into the bed.

                “Em and Aria say hi. And they love you,” Spencer said, dutifully relaying Aria’s message.

                “They didn’t need to come all the way here tonight. I’m just going to go to sleep,” she grumbled. Spencer stroked her hair.

                “They were just worried about you. And they wanted to know if they should tell Alison what happened. And your mom,” she added. Hanna grimaced.

                “God, I haven’t even thought about my mom. Can we please wait until tomorrow to call her?” she asked. Spencer nodded.

                “It’s up to you, sweetie,” she said. Hanna brightened slightly.

                “Will you hold me?” she asked. Spencer nodded again and carefully slid into the bed. Hanna snuggled against her.

                “Will you still want to be with me if I have a baby?” she asked, drawing circles on Spencer’s stomach.

                “Of course,” she replied.  Hanna sighed sleepily as the meds kicked in, and her eyes fell shut. It wasn’t until she was sure Hanna was asleep that Spencer allowed herself to consider a future raising a baby with Hanna. It was assuming a lot, of course. The baby surviving, her and Hanna staying together… But she found that she liked the vision. When she and Toby had had that pregnancy scare her sophomore year, she’d been terrified. She hadn’t wanted a baby in her life. But this was different.

                _This is ridiculous_ , she thought to herself. _You and Hanna have been dating for a couple of days!_ And yet, that didn’t even seem right. They’d only been dating for a couple of days, but they’d been best friends for nearly twenty years. And if Hanna kept this baby, she would be a big part of its life. Whether she was an auntie, or a mama, Spencer was going to love the baby.

                Spencer pressed a gentle kiss to Hanna’s forehead, and felt her heart warm when Hanna nuzzled closer. Yes, Spencer was going to love this baby. And its mother.


	10. Chapter 10

When Hanna first awoke the next morning, she was aware of little beyond her pain and Spencer's absence. 

"Spence?" she rasped, frantically reaching for her girlfriend’s hand. Someone--not Spencer--gently grasped her hand.

"She just ran downstairs to grab a cup of coffee," a soft voice said. Hanna struggled to recognize the voice. Aria, she realized, forcing her eyes open.

"She didn't leave until we got here," Emily added. Hanna took a painful breath, trying not to cry. She felt like a pathetic baby. She could be away from Spencer for five minutes.

"She'll be back in a minute," Aria promised, noticing Hanna's distress.

"Sorry," Hanna muttered. "It's good to see you guys."

Emily smiled sadly.

"You don't have to apologize for wishing we were her," she said. Hanna blushed, though her bruises covered it up. At that moment, the door opened and Spencer walked in. Hanna immediately felt terrible. Spencer looked exhausted. There were dark bags under her eyes, and her hair was in a limp ponytail.

"Hey, sweetie. I didn't think you'd be awake yet," Spencer greeted, sitting down next to Hanna. The blonde frowned.

"You could have gone somewhere to get coffee. I know you think hospital coffee is like basically poison," she said. Spencer rolled her eyes and pressed a kiss to the top of Hanna's head.

"Don't worry about me and my caffeine habits. How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Have you talked to Toby? Did they really catch him?" Hanna asked, ignoring the question. Spencer sighed.

"Yes, I've talked to Toby, and yes they really caught him," she assured her. 

"What are they charging him with?" Emily asked. Spencer's eyes flickered to Hanna, asking for permission. Hanna gave a small nod.

"He was arrested for attempted homicide," she said, watching Hanna's reaction carefully. 

"But they don't know what he'll actually go on trial for."

"Why not? Won’t he be tried for attempted homicide?" Aria asked. Spencer shrugged.

"Maybe, maybe not.  If he pleads guilty, they might agree to lower it to aggravated assault. But either way, he's going away for a long time," she promised, brushing a lock of hair out of Hanna's face.

"How long do I have to stay here?" Hanna asked. Emily and Aria shared a look, knowing the conversation was about to make Hanna upset.

"Maybe we should leave," Emily said quietly. Hanna didn't even look at them.

"Spencer? How long do I have to stay here?" she repeated. Spencer sighed and gently held Hanna's hand.

"The doctors aren't sure yet," she said. Hanna closed her eyes.

"Spence, will you please just tell me what you know?" she asked quietly. Spencer sighed again.

"At least a week. They want monitor--" she cut herself off, not wanting to share the news of Hanna's pregnancy.

"I'd recover better at home," Hanna grumbled. Spencer raised an eyebrow. It was going to be a long week at this rate.

"Honey, you've been here less than twenty four hours," she reminded her.

"So?" Hanna countered. Spencer tried to come up with an argument, but couldn't. If the situations were reversed, she'd be itching to leave the hospital on day one too.

"Can I see a mirror?" Hanna asked suddenly. Spencer felt her stomach turn uneasily. She understood Hanna's desire to see the damage that had been inflicted on her, but she worried it might be too much.

"You're beautiful, Hanna," she said honestly. Hanna seemed to deflate, and Spencer wondered if she'd somehow said the wrong thing. She sighed and took a small mirror out of her purse. She opened it and held it up so Hanna could see her face. Hanna squinted at her reflection with her good eye.

                “I look like shit,” she mumbled.

                “And he’s going away for a long time for this,” Spencer promised.

"Come here," Hanna ordered. Spencer leaned down so Hanna could whisper in her ear.

"Should I tell them?" she asked. Spencer kissed Hanna's temple.

"It's up to you," she whispered back. Hanna sighed. 

"Will you tell them?" she asked. The eye that wasn't swollen shut had gotten wide and hopeful. Spencer nodded.

"Are you sure?" Spencer asked, wanting confirmation before revealing her girlfriend's secret. Hanna nodded.

"Hey guys. We need to tell you something," Spencer announced. Aria and Emily both looked at her expectantly. 

"Last night... Last night, Hanna found out she was pregnant," she said quickly. Emily gasped.

"With Jordan's baby?" Aria asked. 

"No, with Spencer's," Hanna snapped sarcastically. Aria blushed.

"Sorry," she said. 

"Are you going to keep it?" Emily asked. Hanna looked at Spencer, seeking confirmation that she was on her side, no matter what. Spencer gave Hanna a warm smile.

"I think I am," she said softly, her eyes never leaving Spencer's face.

"Does he know?" Aria asked. Hanna felt her blood run cold. If he knew... If he found out... The heart rate monitor began beeping as Hanna's heart raced.

"Hanna, breathe baby, okay? He can't hurt you. He's in jail and he can't touch you," Spencer promised.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Aria exclaimed. 

"Let's give them a few minutes," Emily said, tugging on Aria's arm.

"It's okay, sweetie. You're okay. Just breathe with me," Spencer soothed. Hanna's heart rate slowly returned to normal.

"What if he sends someone after me?" Hanna asked. Spencer shook her head.

"You're safe here. No one can hurt you in here. We'll figure the rest out later. Right now, just focus on healing," Spencer assured her. The fear didn't leave Hanna's eyes.

"Will I ever stop being afraid?" she asked quietly. Spencer stroked her hair gently.

"Yes, eventually," she promised. Hanna grimaced.

"Eventually. Who knows when though, right?" Spencer sighed.

"Maybe... Maybe we should leave town after you get out of the hospital. We could start over somewhere new. Not here, not DC, not New York... Somewhere new," she said. Hanna allowed herself to entertain the idea. 

"Where would we go?" she asked. Spencer shrugged.

"Anywhere we wanted," she said. Hanna smiled. It was a nice idea, but she knew it would never happen.

"You, me, this little one," Spencer said, her hand hovering over Hanna's stomach. With her uninjured hand, Hanna lowered Spencer's hand so it was touching her.

"Would you really do that? Give up your job and life in DC to raise my ex fiancé's baby with me?" Hanna asked. Spencer nodded without hesitation.

"Of course I would. I would do anything for you," she said seriously. Hanna's heart swelled, though it was tinged with regret. How much time had she wasted with a man who would never put her first, when all this time there had been a woman who loved her? 

"We could go to California to be closer to Emily, or Boston to be closer to Aria. Where better to dress celebrities than Hollywood itself?" Spencer asked. Hanna sighed.

"Spence, we both know that isn't going to happen," Hanna said. Spencer frowned.

"What isn't?"

"Any of it. Is getting away from here. We're not leaving Rosewood until A-moji decides to let us leave. And who knows when that will be. In the meantime, Jordan's probably going to hire someone to finish what he started," Hanna said. Spencer's frown deepened at Hanna's matter of fact tone.

"Baby, listen to me. No one is going to get to you in here. Toby will personally stand outside this door of you want him to. And like I said, you just focus on getting better. We'll figure out this stuff with A-moji," Spencer said.

"Promise we'll make it out of here?" Hanna asked. Spencer nodded.

"I promise."

 


End file.
